


Happier

by RiverSkyBlack



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Experimentation, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gore, Implied/Referenced Torture, Not Really Character Death, Rated For Violence, Tags May Change, Torture, it's not that bad, maybe chapter art?, who knows???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-07-18 12:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16118900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverSkyBlack/pseuds/RiverSkyBlack
Summary: "Trust was a one-way street. One that had people breaking its laws for most of his life."I want to change my mind'Cause this just doesn't feel right to meI wanna raise your spirits (want to raise your spirits)I want to see you smile butKnow that means I'll have to leave.War is not something for the young.When bonds begin to shatter, it only takes one thing to break.---Inspired by Marshmello's "Happier" ft. Bastille





	1. Prologue, or Some Context to This Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Trust was a one-way street. One that had people breaking its laws for most of his life."_
>
>> I want to change my mind  
> 'Cause this just doesn't feel right to me  
> I wanna raise your spirits (want to raise your spirits)  
> I want to see you smile but  
> Know that means I'll have to leave.
> 
> War is not something for the young.  
> When bonds begin to shatter, it only takes one thing to break.  
> \---  
> Inspired by Marshmello's "Happier" ft. Bastille 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome to "Happier". This is my first fic on this site, and I'm new to doing stuff like this. Sorry if the formatting is weird, I copy-pasted from Docs and it messed some stuff up. Advice is always welcome. Enjoy reading!

\----  
_Lately, I've been thinking,_  
\----

Electricity snapped under his palm as he brushed against the walls of the Castle.

The mission was supposed to be intelligence-gathering. Again, Keith got in the way. 

Even going back and trying to help earned him a lecture. And a new scar. 

Regris wasn't that old. He was almost an adult in Galra terms. Even that was too young for a war like this, Kolivan had told him many moons ago. They often fought for those too young to understand what they were seeing. Some did, though. When they were, they never forgot. 

An excuse flared in his mind, like paper next to a candle. Anything would have been enough for him to go get his team member back. 

He did save the mission after all. But both he and Kolivan knew that his actions were more than just needing to save the intel. Keith couldn't let go of people the way the Blade did. 

He paid the price of his actions with a large, bubbling burn on his back. As he was running to the escape pod, he had forgotten to take hostiles other than the sentries into account. A Druid fired a long, twisting coil of magic at him, ruining his uniform and knocking him into the pod. The doors shut, leaving a glowering Kolivan and a passed out Regris.

A couple hours later, as he's patched up, he finds he doesn't regret it at all. 

\----

_"Well look who decided to show up."_

Keith was tired. Even since he had found the Blade he knew it was his chance to learn more about where he came from. But every second he was there, he wasn't back on the Castle with his team. 

He loved his teammates like family, and It hurt to be away from them. He missed waking up late and complaining about food goo and training with his friends. But Shiro was different. After Kerberos, he just hadn't come back the same person. 

He had just gotten back from the Galra. Anyone would have changed from the experiences, but it still hurt when he stopped acting like a brother. As much as it looked like he didn't like being touched, Keith missed the friendly pats or high-fives his brother would give him. 

At times like this, when he's truly alone, Keith begins to crumble. The ache in his heart is worse than the ache in his bones, and his eyes are wetter than he wants to admit. 

\----

" _They need you, Keith. They need you to be their leader."_

Shiro was trying to convince him to stay for the team's missions, rather than go with the Blades. Black stood in the back of his mind, not pushing him to go, but not trying to get him to stay, either. Every night, before he would sleep, he could hear her calling for Shiro. But she wouldn't agree to switch leaders again and again. He had to take it into his own hands. 

\----

_"Regris! No!"_

Kolivan's words rang in his mind as loud as the explosion did. 

Mission over the individual. He had given his life up over a rigged ship, and Kolivan had said nothing to stop him or tell him it was time to go. 

_"The Marmora can go on without you. They have for thousands of years. Voltron cannot."_

\----

He felt Black break their connection. It had grown weak enough that it was just a twinge in his mind, but her powerful presence was gone. Shiro had reconnected with his Lion. 

When he arrived, he didn't know what to expect. Shiro might be happy to have his lion back, but the rest of the team would be angry. 

"You keep saying you're sorry, but your actions say otherwise." Allura's words cut into him. The tension in the room was awful. He could hardly bring himself to look into their eyes. 

He knew it was his fault. One that he would keep making until Shiro was back at the head of Voltron. He had made it before. 

Keith decided never to make it again. He made his choice when he walked into the room. 

They didn't stop him or try to get him to stay. They had made their choice, too. They had said their goodbyes, nothing before and nothing after. 

It still hurt when he left. 

\----

The mission had failed, on his part. 

About three quintants in, during a pickup mission for a quintessence sample, he had been discovered. The last thing he had heard of the undercover Blade, he was on the other side of the ship, safe. But now they knew that there was a spy on the ship, and they would interrogate everyone.

The sentries had caught him the arms, dragging him towards the prison cells. He remote detonated the pod he came in with a voice command. The distant echo of an explosion rocked the ship slightly. The sentry on his right gripped tighter like that was his distraction. 

His suit had a couple of tricks, though. He flicked a small metal knife out of his sleeve and cut a couple of the sentries' fingers off. Sparks shot from the wound, and the druid's mask dimmed as he stabbed the knife through its metal plate. The sentry on his right started calling for backup, sending alarm bells throughout the ship. Improvising, he twisted his arm out of the dead robot's clutch and took down the other one. 

Too late, it collapsed to the ground. More soldiers streamed towards him from up and down the hall, robots mixed with the galran soldiers. He began to fight, flicking his blade through its forms quicker than most could. He took down several sentries and ignored the sounds that would bubble up when dark, red blood would flash into his vision every once and a while. 

But sheer numbers could overtake power in almost every situation, and he was tiring fast. 

Finally, a large, furred galra ran towards him, knocking everything in their path away. He caught Keith's arm, twisting it, and his blade fell out of his hand. The commander shoved him to the ground, and with a growl, slammed the back of his head into the metal floor. 

\----

The cell wasn't bad if you liked small, stuffy spaces. There was no ventilation, and He was gasping for breath when the door slid open, revealing the violet-furred galra that had caught him before. He snatched a handful of Keith's hair and heaved him up onto his feet. 

"Come on, runt." The commander growled, grabbing his shackles and pushing him forward. 

It was still a cage, but he could breathe in this one. He banged on the door, his hands, his feet, and on more than one frustrated occasion, his head. His nails hurt from scratching the walls so often. His throat hurt when he screamed curses at the cameras. Keith refused to let himself sleep, even when his kicks grew weaker, and his eyelids drooped. 

Finally, the shackles on his wrists sparked once, then filled his body with bright, blue electricity. He was still screaming when his head sagged and his eyes fell shut. 

\----  
_I want you to be happier,_  
\----


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keith finally arrives at the Galra headquarters, the Blade tells the Paladins, and Haggar shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope all of you are doing well. This chapter was easier to write, now that I know a little bit more about the site. I am (or already did) going to fix and practically rewrite the first chapter. I hadn't written for a while, so hopefully, I'll do it right this time. Also, gore warning for this chapter! If you are sensitive to this kind of stuff, skip from the lyrics to the next break.

\----  
_When the morning comes,_  
\----

Keith's body ached. 

He had just been dragged off the ship, nails blunted and fists bruised from hitting the wall so often. The scabs on his back cracked as he was swung around corners. 

The cell they stopped at was strange, different than any cell he thought he could be staying in.

It was a massive, circular room. stretching around the upper half was two-way glass. A giant floodlight hung over the roof from the domed ceiling. Different doors lined the walls, almost invisible if you weren't paying attention. The first thing he noticed was the single chair sitting in the middle of the room. It was made out of the same material as the room, bolted to the floor.

The guards dragged him towards the chair. they forced him to sit down, ignoring the small cry he made when thick metal cuffs locked around his arms, legs and neck. They began hooking him up to machines, pushing an IV into his skin, taking various samples. 

With a _clack,_ a hidden door slid open. Druids flowed in, replacing the soldiers bustling around the room. They began to test different parts of him for reactions. They poured different substances onto his skin, ranging from a clear liquid to a thick, dark purple. Cutting off hair, flashing bright lights in his eyes.

Almost all movement ceased when Haggar entered the room. Keith lifted his head up, resting against the metal chair. 

"What do you want?" he asked, glaring at her. 

She didn't respond, choosing instead to walk over to him with careful, slow steps.

"Do you know what I want, Paladin?" She asked voice raspy from what he had guessed was disuse.

"Pardon me. _Half-breed_. I can see the impurities in your blood from the security cameras." Her nails dug into the skin of his face as she grabbed him. "You not the first human to come here. But you will be the first of use."

She slammed his head against the metal chair before he could respond. As his consciousness faded out, he realized they could only tell him if they were sure he would never get out.

\----  
_When the morning comes,_  
\----

Kolivan was almost scared.

it had been approximately two quintants since they had lost Keith. His team was heading to the Castle of Lions currently, moving as fast as they could, trying not to waste any of their precious time. 

He knew how the Paladins would react. He had lost his family, too. 

He kept reminding himself of that as he walked to the main deck.

"Voltron Paladins." His deep voice echoed through the room, each Blade fanning out beside him. Each person fell silent, their attention turned to him. "I have some...bad news." 

"Is Keith alright?" they began to ask, voices overlapping in their haste to make sure. They all wore matching looks of concern. He remembered Keith's doubts when he talked about the Paladins. Kolivan knew, for certain, that these were real. 

"Keith has been captured by the Galra Empire."

The room when entirely silent, each member shocked into silence. Pidge's face was unreadable, such a mix of emotion you didn't know what was going on inside her head. Hunk looked like he was about to cry--he probably was. Coran looked like the soul had been sucked out of him. Allura was just shocked. 

The most notable, Kolivan thought, were Shiro and Lance's reactions. Lance looked empty, staring at the Blade leader with an expression he knew very well. Grief. It reminded Kolivan of himself when he got the news about his own family, way before the Blade was a thought in his mind. 

Shiro was frozen, a thousand thoughts ran through his mind, each worse than the last. It was building. Kolivan braced himself for the anger. 

The black paladin spoke, his voice as cold and emotionless as the space outside the windows of the castle. 

"When was he captured?"

"Two quintants ago." the Blade beside him said, not realizing how delicate this situation was.

Everything exploded at once. Shouts rang in Kolivan's head from every Altean and human in the room. Accusations, sobs, eyes glossy with tears boring into him. They looked heartbroken. But every faced looked at him with some sort of anger. Disbelief, mistrust, betrayal, hurt, and pain, they all looked him in the eyes when they screamed at him. 

Hunk was the first to break.

Voltron's paladins, each a pillar, holding up the revolution. 

It was not until then that the cracks began to show. 

The yellow paladin crumbled towards the floor, tears flowing from his eyes. He was grasping at the straws in his mind, trying to make sense of what was happening around him. Allura crouched down with him, followed by Coran and Pidge. Shiro sat down where he was standing, blankly staring at the floor. His grief pooled in his grey eyes.

Lance wasn't mourning. He was angry. At Keith. At the Galra. 

_At the Blade._

The had his Bayard at Kolivan's throat before his guards could realize what had happened. 

"It's been _two quintants?_ and you _didn't say anything?_ Not a video call, a message, a rendezvous point where you could explain what the heck happened out there?" His voice burned with anger. 

"We did the best we could. It's taken us that long to get a secure line between us. A couple of vargas ago, we decided it would be easier to just come and tell you." Kolivan told him, voice neutral. He kept his eyes on Lances', ignoring the gun at his throat.

"You'd better hope Keith's okay," Lance growled, lowering his gun. "And if he isn't, you'll have a lot more to worry about than just my bayard."

\----

Keith's consciousness faded in and out.

The could hear his breathing in his ears, the quiet beeping of his vitals.

The metal on his back was cold, the light above him too bright.

He was facing upwards. As he slowly opened his eyes, he was looking into the light above an operating table. His arms were chained to the table, as were his legs. A padded strip of cloth was stretched over his forehead, holding his head in place.

Druids moved quietly around the room beside him, their rustling the only sound. 

One of them, with a more decorated face mask, took things off the wheeled table behind his head. It took him too long to hear the taps of metal against metal. 

Keith began to thrash against the table, trying to twist away from the points of the sharp instruments. The Druid turned to him, laying their huge hand on his chest, holding him in place. 

Violet met glowing yellow, and metal bit into his skin. 

Later, when he was again pushed into his chair and locked in place, he thought he had done a good job of staying silent.

When the lead doctor removed a set of earplugs from his ears during a checkup, his sore, bloodied throat told him otherwise.

His back arched upwards, struggling against the doctor as he scored deep marks across his chest. Different parts of him were opened; his arms, his stomach, his chest. Firey pain lanced up every cut, like the metal point was split into little claws. Through bleary eyes, he saw them open him up, look inside, take things out and put things back in. His mind reeled as he saw blood splash onto the table. After a while, when the major parts of the experiment were complete, they began to stitch him back together. Grey threats weaved with the threads into every wound. He was hooked up with different machines. Ones that beeped, ones that flashed, ones that fed him sedatives and Galra painkillers. 

The worst part was when Haggar stepped in. She took another vial of something off the table. It glowed a pale yellow, dimming as she touched it. The liquid almost seemed to move away from her hands. Loading the liquid into the syringe gun, she quickly stepped towards him, and with one movement, pulled back and fired it into his arm.

His entire body was on fire. The bruise on his back, not yet fully healed, exploded in pain. At first, the fire seemed like the worst thing. As time went on, the pain that engulfed his back had begun to spread. He felt the fire being replaced by a horrible cramping, like every nerve ending was alight, pushing against his muscles and bones. The ringing in his ears increased, until the only thing he could feel was the _thumps_ as his back hit the table. His vision flickered, a yellow film growing in front of his pupils. They finally fell closed, and he stopped fighting. 

He heard Haggar laughing off to his right as he was swept backwards, into a sleep he tried to refuse.

\----  
_and we see what we've become,  
\----_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor arrives, Haggar experiments, and a look at the paladins.

\----  
_In the cold light of day we're a flame in the wind,_  
\----

Keith woke with a start.

His tongue was fuzzy in his mouth as he lifted his head. The light above him was dim, casting strange shadows around the room. The metal cuffs made it hard to move, but he twisted around in the metal chair, trying to soothe his cramping muscles. 

Trying to access his injuries, he looked towards the first cut they had made: his stomach. They had already removed his outer armour, leaving the textured bodysuit behind. They hadn't bothered to move it out the way when they cut into him, and he could see the threads they had stitched him up with. 

He closed his eyes, waiting for someone to enter. 

After a couple of minutes, he hesitantly opened his eyes. There was no banging or footsteps coming from the hallways outside the room. The purple splotches on his hands were shrinking as he calmed down. 

Keith did a double take, looking closely at his hands. He gasped, and with his panic, they seemed to grow. He started to struggle, trying to get away from the hands that couldn't be his. He felt like crying, eyes sliding over the length and thickness that his nails had acquired. The clearer his mind got, the more he discovered. His hearing had greatly improved, and from what he could feel, they had taken the shape of Sendak's, batlike. The air currents he could feel told him that they did have more fur than the galra general, and were narrower. He felt taller, and the cuffs on his arms had moved from his wrists to his forearms, his hands dangling over the edge of the chair. 

A hiss from one of the doors, and he felt his ears angle towards it. They weren't like Haggars' footsteps, he noticed. She had a shorter stride, and she walked flatly, her entire foot touching the ground at once. Whoever it was, they walked on the balls of their feet and was trying to be stealthy. 

"The red paladin," Lotor's voice echoed off the walls. "Or is it the black paladin now?" he clicked his tongue, moving into Keith's field of vision. "Either way, you've failed at catching me in either position."

Keith growled, then shrank back from the sound. 

"Look at that. You're a half-breed!" The prince crowed, walking in circles around him. "I watched your transformation. From up there." He pointed to the wrap-around glass towards the top of the room, stopping in front of the other boy. "There was a lot less blood than other experiments the Witch has tried on prisoners." He tapped his nose, looking thoughtful. "I think she was rather disappointed." 

Keith tried to speak, his muffled protests barely sounding like words. Lotor leaned in, tilting his head like he was trying to listen.

"What was that?" he asked. Keith tried to speak again, growing louder as Lotor reached towards his face. He grabbed the edge of the gag with his fingers, digging his nails into Keith's cheek. He left long, bloody marks as he ripped it off, stretching from his jaw to his chin. "Now we can finally talk." 

Keith spat in Lotor's face, refusing to say anything that might hint to any secrets. 

Lotor wiped the spit off, looking down at his hand in surprise. His confusion turned to anger, and he slapped Keith hard across his face. 

"Prisoners usually don't have as much spunk as you," He commented, stepping back. "I'll tell the Witch you're ready for experimentation again."

He swept out of the room, leaving Keith screaming curses behind him.

\----

Hours passed. His dry throat told him it had been almost half a day since he had woken up. 

His hands had long since returned to normal. As he stared at the door, he noticed that the red insignia had gradually become duller, and the purple colour of the walls had returned. The shadows were darker, and the light was less yellow. But his height hadn't changed, his hands still hanging over the edge of the chair. 

Footsteps. Although his hearing had returned to normal, he knew they were Haggar's. 

"Well," She croaked, stepping in. "The _Hallef_ is awake. We'll start test right away." 

A couple of druids filed in after her. They began to move things around, pushing tables closer. Keith ground his teeth as one of them pushed an IV into his arm. A beeping followed soon after. 

"Begin test one." 

Blue light flooded his sight as electricity tore into him. He screamed, feeling his voice break. His hands clawed at the edge of the chair, head thrashing back and forth. The machine beeped rapidly off to his left. He felt his lungs expanding, but he couldn't breathe, muscles already pulled tight with the thought of getting away from the pain. 

"Stop." The order was short, and the blue arches ceased. Keith's body buzzed with pain, and the smell of burning hair permeated the air. He slumped in his seat, breathing hard. 

"Begin test two."

It was a couple seconds before anything happened. He heard movement, but his head felt too heavy to move. Another needle was pushed into his skin. The pain was an ache at first. His bones hurt, but apart from the burns, he was alright.

He soon discovered that an ache was the least of his worries. When he dragged his eyes open, his father's face filled his vision. It was covered in soot, and a burn covered his cheek. 

"Keith?" His father asked, expression changing. "What are you doing? This isn't where I left you." His brows furrowed. "I told you to stay where you were! If you stayed in the house, none of this would have happened." Keith swallowed. This couldn't be his father. "Look what you did. You left me. Just like your mother. I didn't start this. You did." His face burned away, burns growing as Keith watched. He shook his head, leaning away from the hallucination. 

He was standing in the middle of a room full of stars. The ground beneath his feet was mirrored and rippled like glass. Shiro stood before him, arms crossed. His face reminded Keith of when he had tried to push Shiro into looking into the quintessence supply routes. 

"Look what you did!" Shiro yelled, his voice echoing despite the seemingly infinite plain. "Voltron is falling apart. You were the one in charge. You've ruined everything." 

Keith took a step back, his blurry mind trying to make sense of the man in front of him. 

"You've chosen to leave. And in that, you've chosen to be alone."

The words cut as much as they had before. 

Faces came and went, leaving the words each spoke burned in his mind. 

As Kolivan's face began to blur out, his deep voice fading into background fuzz, they announced that the test was over. He was drained, his lungs ached. 

"A good start," Haggar spoke. "The information you've provided will help us greatly."

She swept from the room, the druids following in neat, orderly lines. 

Keith began to plan.

\----

The castle seemed empty.

It wasn't that there was anybody missing from their daily routines. Waking up, eating, training, lunch, resting, battle plans and sleep. It usually worked like that. 

After Keith had left, nothing had really changed. They missed him, but it was easy to overlook the pilot, even when he was there. 

It hurt to admit that they had made a mistake. That they were used to the silence of the training room, the gaps in their conversation Keith used to talk. 

When Kolivan had told them, every member knew what they had done. The littlest things, saying hello to each other, making jokes, they had, in complete honesty, left him out of. 

The knowledge sat in every one of their minds. a constant source of tears. They knew, and it _hurt._ There were some days when they didn't train, or even eat. The paladins sat, quietly, in the past. 

A quiet burden isn't felt until it's added to. 

Today was one of those days. When you wake up with your bones willed with lead. Those days when you had to wash your face right away, because salt doesn't come out of your skin very easily. When laying in bed was the best option for the day.

Pidge sighed as she sat down in the paladin lounge. Because of the link between the paladins, she could feel that everyone was having one of those days. It wouldn't be long before they filed in, tear tracks on some, but worry etched into every line. 

She remembered when they felt the distant string of thought between them and Keith snap. The sudden wrongness in that part of her mind. She kept reaching for something that wasn't there. Shiro's mind was different than it was. It radiated power and the desire to _protect._ It felt like oil was clouding the bond when he reconnected with the Black Lion. 

Pidge had worked with Hunk for hours on end, trying to find Keith. The only thing they found was a set of tests they found on a prisoner, who had been picked up close to when Keith was. They got the log form a ship that had jumped into hyperspace, leaving them with a dead end. 

Her eyes hurt. 

"Did you find anything?" Lance asked. He never stopped, every day since they got the news. she noticed the slight crack in his voice.

"Nothing yet."

"I'm sorry," Lance whispered, his volume falling by the second. "I miss him."

Pidge looked at the older boy. "We all do," she replied. "But we'll find something. I'm sure of it."

"I just--" Lance's eyes were welling up, but he wasn't going to cry. _Not now._

"I _miss_ him. Even the stupid stuff. We were finally getting closer, you know? And then he _left._ I was so angry. How could he leave? But now..." Lance went silent, salt water dripping into his palms. 

"Lance?" She asked. He had been quiet ever since they learned Keith had been captured. Any emotion except for the constantly tired look was rare. 

"I understand!" He yelled, jumping up from his place on the couch. "He didn't want to stay! We didn't give him a reason to!" 

He was pacing now, hands gripping his brown hair. 

"I _miss_ him! We never helped him, or hugged him, or asked how he was doing! I insulted him, for goodness' sake!" 

"Lance." PIdge stared at him, surprised by this reaction. "This wasn't your fault, you realize that, right?"

"But it was! It was always our fault. Shiro told us about his past. Now our leader is acting weird, like he forgot who Keith was to him! And we all played a part when he left. I could've-- _we_ made him feel like he was doing something wrong. The Blade of Marmora was his last resort. We forced him into it." 

The green paladin stood, striding over to the taller boy. She hugged him, as he fell to his knees, defeated. Tears dripped from his eyes, his earlier anger crumbling into deep, heaving sobs. 

"It h-hurts. I don't want to think about it but then I turn the corner and he's not there--" She quieted him. They were both sitting now, leaning on each other.

"I _miss_ him." 

There they stayed, sitting in the Castle of Lions, blue light filling the room. Two heavy hearts. Two pillars. 

\----  
_Not the fire we've begun,_  
\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thanks for reading the earlier chapters. This chapter was a bit harder to write, I've never really written emotion before.   
> I am trying to stress how the Paladins feel. Emotion will play a big part in this story!
> 
> See you next week!


	4. Chapter 4

\----  
 _Every argument, every word we can't take back,_  
\----  
Hunk was sick.

Not in body, but in mind. 

He knew how the other paladins were feeling. Pidge had told him what happened with Lance. Shiro wasn't doing any better, still trapped in his mind. Their link told him that what everyone really needed was rest. 

Allura had been caught in a state of anger and shock, often found on the training deck. Coran had lost his cheeriness, and every attempt was met with lost, tired stares. So Hunk took over the position of caring for his friends. 

He had first broken through his own guilt when Pidge barreled in, announcing that she had found something about Keith's whereabouts. He had dragged himself out of his thoughts way earlier than any of his friends. Since then, with Pidge scouring the quadrant that they had found the warship in, it was up to Hunk, making the meals and helping out with projects. Allura was often out searching for information, so Coran was taking care of the Castle. 

"Hey, Hunk?" Shiro's voice sounded from the doorway. The deep bags under his eyes told Hunk that his nightmares hadn't gotten any better. 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you have any of those..." He seemed to struggle with his words for a moment, trying to the cobwebs off his mind. "...Ravioli?"

It wasn't really ravioli. During an intel mission, Kolivan had found a couple crates of almost-flour. He had already figured out how to make cheese using a weird Altean microwave and some milk. "Space eggs" were pretty easy to find, surprisingly. 

"Sure. Sit down while I warm them up."

Back on earth, pasta goes bad in about a week or two. The Altean refrigerators took all the humidity out of the air and self-disinfected every couple days, so everything stayed safe for months at a time. 

The quiet _thunk_ of the microwave and a couple of button presses later, and popping noises filled the room. 

"How are you?" The question was quiet, conversational. So far, any attempts to get Shiro out of his shell had failed. But it didn't hurt to try.

The older boy sighed. Hunk could feel the oily sheen of his mind over the link. Under that, there was a blurred image of fatigue that didn't quite feel genuine. "Tired."

"Have you slept at all?"

Shiro gave a bitter laugh. "How could I? One of my teammates had been _captured by the Galra._ " 

"You know it's not your fault, right? You did all you could while he was here." Hunk was concerned, feeling resentful anger well up from the bond. 

"Stop trying to make me feel better. You wouldn't understand!" Shiro's voice echoed off the kitchen walls, not loud enough for anybody to overhear. The yellow paladin recoiled in shock, taking his hand away from where it had been resting on Shiro's shoulder. As he did so, he saw the lines on the other paladin's face recede, visibly shocked at how he had reacted. "I'm sorry. I don't know...what happened." 

"I understand." Everyone had been under a lot of stress, between fighting the war and looking for Keith. Shiro had been leading most of the rebel missions. 

The food had long since cooled. He still handed it to Shiro, knowing that he would leave whether he had it or not. He stood up to leave, looking at Hunk. "Thanks." The worry on his face was still there, but it had easy, leaving a tiredly calm look on his face. 

"Anytime." It felt good to help his friends out. Cooking and cleaning kept his minds off of the situation, but sometimes he knew it was too much for one person to bear alone. 

The strongest buildings can't stand forever. 

\----

"Hallef." The mechanical voice sounded high above him. 

Keith inwardly sighed. After Haggar had introduced the new nickname, they had reprogramed the sentries to use the new titles, too.

"Ready for test one, day five." It echoed off the walls. 

"Check, twenty-seventh test." A druid spoke off to his left, holding metal pincers. 

A long, high beep sounded, and they began. This test was more complex than the others. Once they found his limits, the number of tests in a day had increased. Some were simple, burning hair, testing the thickness of different parts of his skin, or just flashing lights at him. 

When they injected the molten fire, he knew this test could not be like the others. 

It was like the stories of liquid nitrogen, burning and freezing him at the same time, tearing his veins apart. It flooded his senses, a cracking in his ears, a sour taste in his mouth, the smell of blood. His vision was filled with rippling shades of black and blue, the chair prickled his skin where he touched it. Blisters were beginning to break out on his skin, dying his skin a bubbling purple. He cried out in pain, his nerves at their capacity, trying not to move. Haggar, who had been watching from above, was down in the lab, watching. She grabbed him roughly, inducing another spasm of agony. "You are nothing." She told him. 

He tried, _and failed_ to ignore her. He couldn't move, her clawed hands felt like they were leaving scorch marks on his skin. 

"You belong to the Galra Empire. You are not the red paladin, you are not a rebel." Her grip tightened, and she layered her voice with quintessence. "You are just a Hallef, a peasant in the presence of your superiors. Join us, and the pain will be gone."

He felt his ears twist and morph, his eyesight sharpening as well as twisting the colours. The tips of fingers were raw and sore, but the terrible burning began to recede. The minute he could move, he spat at Haggar. 

"Never!" Keith screamed as they sedated him, vials filled with the liquid fire. His mouth was bloody, he had bitten his own tongue in the struggle. His spine felt like it was flaking off, his bones felt like they were thickening, pulling his body downwards. With a sharp word, Haggar ordered the rest of the druids out of the room. The metal of the chair creaked as he strained to stand up, to get away from her. 

"Where do you belong?" She asked. "Nowhere. You can join the Galra Empire, rise in the ranks. Voltron doesn't want you." She spat, her yellow eyes fixed on him. "You're broken. Worthless. Why did the black paladin choose you? He'd take all of this without complaint." She crouched, staring him directly in his eyes. "He already has."

Red filled Keith's vision, and he felt a surge of power through his veins. The lights around him flickered and failed, the clatter of dead sentries falling filled the halls outside. The thin metal of the chair tore away, and he lunged. 

Something shot out of the wall. As he sliced down, he felt threads and stuffing rush past his claws, red flying into his eyes. The cloudiness of his mind faded, leaving the new strength in his limbs. 

He crouched in front of a dummy, Haggar standing triumphantly behind its featureless face, nearly torn in half. 

Electricity exploded behind his eyes, and he collapsed, completely spent. 

"End test twenty-seven." The glee was evident in her voice. "Begin test twenty-eight."

She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Keith alone. 

Something dropped to the floor behind him. He whirled around, seeing a small, glowing cube start to unfold. 

It was horribly disfigured, face-half melted, limbs twisted in awful ways. It flickered in and out of his vision, glitching strangely as it stalked towards him. It radiated malevolence, a pure rage that permeated the air around it. It was at least eight feet tall, with a mouth filled with teeth and slick, oily hide the colour of ink. The closer it got, the more it affected Keith. It made his hair stand on end--everything about it felt wrong. The quintessence he could feel made his stomach roil, the room spinning around him.

"Isn't that interesting?" Haggar growled from her place in the observation room. "What we can do with so little quintessence."

It let out a terrible screech, grating on Keith's ears on a level that would've shattered normal human eardrums. The pain from moving was obvious on its face as it moved, jumping from one end of the room to the next. 

"The Altean must have told you of the creature from the Rift. Our samples could be used for greater things, as we found. X4275 was the first we tested when we mixed quintessence with the DNA."

Keith jumped, using its bent shoulders to get higher off the ground. It screeched again, blood splattering the ground as the force of the cry tore its throat. 

"What we created was a creature beyond our realm, half stuck between realities. The original subject accepted the mixture at first, but day 57 brought some new results. It hadn't just bonded with its flesh, it had attached itself to the creatures' very being. The only attempt at separating them resulted in the mutation of X4275, the extra quintessence trapped them in this state, unable to change and no way to stop."

It bounded off the walls in an unnatural way, claws sticking to the walls before it tore them off in a haste to move. Its eyes rolled wildly, glossy white and bloodshot, flicking from place to place. It dove towards him, leaving him with the only option to jump. It then slammed its body upwards, sending him flying into the light. 

"See that this doesn't happen to you, _Hallef._ " She spat the nickname with fury, all chances of stopping the fight leaking from her eyes. The mic crackled and went silent.

He was up in a second, nails scrabbling at the smooth floors. It continued to let him run around the room, watching as he barely dodged each swinging blow. Wind buffeted his fur as he lept past its dull eyes, moving faster than any Galra, it smashed him into the ground. It placed a clawed foot on his back, pinning him to the ground. Every attempt to escape was met with a slight shift, tiny pinpricks as the curved nails dug in. Haggar's voice gave the creature pause, its head moving unnaturally as it looked up at her. 

"End him." She growled, and the echo of her footsteps faded. 

Keith's eyes widened in his panic. His face was pressed to the ground, teeth bared as the looked out of the corner of his eye. It looked back at him, face steadily blank. 

He twisted out of the way as it shifted its foot, springing back up onto his feet. It still towered above him, a couple feet above the tips of his ears. It roared, and after a moment's pause, charged after him. Keith dodged each punch with ease, anticipating each one. He scored mark after mark, a spray of maroon spattering the ground after each successful hit. His instincts were kicking in, bringing him a new sense of clarity. Red licked at the edges of his vision as he allowed his nails to curl further, his teeth bared. Blood flowed from every wound, the creature staggering back and forth as it tried to look at him. As Keith whirled to look at the mutation, he saw the one opening that it wasn't used to defending; its massive chest. He ducked under a swing, he jumped towards its shoulders, digging his claws into them, they fell back onto the floor. 

The half-Galra looked up at where Haggar would be standing. His long, tapered claws were waiting just above its throat, the other pressing on its windpipe. It choked underneath him as he pressed down harder, its limbs struggling to get out from under the smaller being. He felt its spasms grow weaker the longer he was holding it down. X4725 gave a long, low keen, its eyes bloodshot and tongue lolling out of its mouth--and went limp. 

Keith raised his hand and brought it down, ripping into its throat. Everything was dyed red, the flames flickering in his sight blood-red. Warm liquid splattered his face and chest, burning like coals through his bodysuit as he stepped off the corpse. As he glared defiantly at the observation room, even as blue light filled the air and he collapsed.

\----  
 _'Cause with all that has happened  
I think that we both know the way that this story ends._  
\----


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some explanation, (please read the writer's notes), Zarkon gets some news, and the team finds what they're looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some writer's notes: When it cuts to the throne room on Zarkon's ship, there's always a throbbing pulse in the background for the music. In this story, it comes from all the quintessence stored in the ship. Zarkon has to have a backup store because he constantly has to use it to find the Black Lion. They kill planets to harvest quintessence, so I thought it would be fitting that it does have a loud, thudding pulse. 
> 
> Keith does have a collar that hooks up to things like an IV and regulating machines during experiments. It is also used as a way to control him. Galra ears are similar to cat ears in shape and movement, but closer to dogs in their hearing range. It produces a frequency of almost 40,000 Hz, which is 20,000 above what most humans can hear. It throws off the way he can hear and keeps him on edge. The more Galra he becomes, the more it bothers him. 
> 
> The shape of the collar is different as well. When I think of a collar, it's a thick, circular piece of metal that fits around the person's neck. The one the Galra use is a metal coil, similar to a spring or a slinky. It's about half the height, and it's spaced for flexibility. The metal is less brittle and made in a mould, then the wires are strung through it. The way that its made is especially to prevent tampering. The only way to get it on the prisoner is with magic because it's made to not come off, and the chance of suffocation, while putting it on or taking it off, is pretty high. 
> 
> If you're wondering, _"River, why did you just use almost 2,000 characters to explain that,"_ It's because certain details that I talk about in the story are really difficult to understand without a note like this. A lot of the wording and design of what they're going to do, and have done, come in to play later in the story. Different things that I talk about in writer's notes are important and the story would seem impossible without it. 
> 
> Now that you've (hopefully) finished that, welcome to chapter five! Thanks for reading.

\----  
_Then only for a minute, I want to change my mind,_  
\----

Haggar strode into the throne room, head held low. Her experiments with the paladin had gone well, yielding results for every day he was on the ship. The most difficult part, now that the life-threatening tests were done, was telling Zarkon what had transpired while she wasn't present in his court. 

"What is it." The emperor growled, not moving from his rigid position on the throne. Purple lights pulsed along the thrumming of all the quintessence held on the ship behind him, illuminating the deep shadows that flickered over his face. His eyes were dimmed somewhat, revealing how weak he had been after the fight with the paladins. A couple of weeks ago, he had been on life support. The canisters on his back were hooked up to the wall, as the wounds he had suffered had drained him more than Haggar thought was possible. 

"We have captured the Red Paladin." She could see no change in his facial expression, but she could sense his delight in getting angry, yelling at her and destroying sentry after sentry that had failed in their work. 

"And you did not tell me, two weeks ago, when he had boarded this ship for the first time?" If it was possible, he sat up straighter. "Did you know of this?" 

"Yes, sire." She refused to level her gaze, knowing that it would anger the Galra king. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, away from his face. 

"The penalty of treason is death." His voice echoed in the chamber, and Haggar knew the guards, however stoic they may be, were listening outside. "You should be killed for this act. The paladin is the best suited for my plans. You endangered the Empire with your actions."

She knew that wasn't true. Their section of the Empire was so thick with ships that not even the smallest cloaked ship could get through. Several of the planets had sustainable food sources, and they could seal the entire ship off if anything were to happen. "I am sorry, sire. What do you wish for the paladin?" 

"Bring him to me. Now, leave my chambers, Witch, or I will strike you down where you stand." 

She bowed and strode out of the room, her back burning with the heat of his glare. The doors swung open, and the massive soldiers stepped aside. Her pace continued, and she walked with heavy steps toward the half-blood's cell.

\----

Pillars need support from each other. No building can stand with only one uncracked column. 

Matt slumped against the wall, eyes burning. He had looked through all the data from the recent missions and found nothing. He rubbed at his dry eyes, wishing that the paladins could find a way to relax. Over the past few days, he had found that guilt had driven each to the brink of exhaustion; it was taking a toll on them. He had found each paladin slumped over on their activities. Hunk lying on the floor near the oven, Pidge waking up the next day with key marks from her computer imprinted on her face. He once found Shiro snoring on a map of their quadrant, which he now had several pictures of, and Lance slouched over, still with his Bayard in his hand. 

Pidge had thrown a tablet at him before running off to add new equipment to her set up in the hangar. The Blade had an identification system similar to the rebels', but it was in the form a small, smooth chip attached to each member's weapon. According to what Hunk told him, Black had severed her connection with her previous paladin days before his disappearance; and Lance said that Keith had forcibly cut his bond with Red. She could feel his barest emotions, nothing to indicate where he had been taken. Matt had found Lance crying often, as Red had shown him what she could feel from Keith. 

"Matt?" Allura poked her head in, looking around one of the Castle's many sitting rooms. "Did Pidge find anything?"

He blushed slightly, wondering whether she had journeyed the hallways looking for him. "Nothing that I can see right now. How's the team holding up?"

She sighed, sitting down across from him. Her fingers drummed on the table he had propped his computer up on. "Not good. They can't concentrate on anything. I get that Keith was a big part of the team but..." She trailed off, looking away from him. Matt's mind whirled. She was blaming _Keith_ for this?

"What?" He unconsciously drew back from her, the echoes of the wails he had heard when they told the rebels about the kidnapping filling his ears. 

"He made his choice to leave. The paladins and I respected that choice, and let him. He could have stayed out of trouble, but..." Allura shifted in her seat, fingers moving faster and faster on the table. "Nobody was pushing him away. In a way, he brought this upon himself, by being so careless." She nodded as if reassuring herself that it was the right opinion. 

Matt broke in. "How can you say that? Keith left because he thought that the only way to help Shiro reconnect with the Black Lion was to leave." 

The princess looked at him. As he met them, a bolt of fear shot through him. The reflective pink of her irises bled into a flinty grey. Flat blue had replaced the green, the colour falling like sleet over all other colours. She laughed a high, cold sound. "He's just like you. Not a paladin, the brother of the strongest weapon in the universe. And yet, so, so weak."

He stumbled away from her, the lights from above acquiring a grey-green colour. She stepped towards him, the table that was once in front of her dissipating as she walked through it. She continued, her voice the steely slither of a blade being drawn from a sheath. "Nobody will miss you if you leave." She had him trapped against the wall. "You're stupid enough to be captured, just as he was. Keith was _nothing_. The Red Lion belonged to _me._ The half-galra wasn't a problem to take care of."

Her smile twisted, and he was laying on a flat, metal surface, a sheet covering him. Matt flung it off, and dim light filtered through his eyes. Several, similar tables, each with a sheet covering--he gasped. Running over to one, he lifted it, then pulled back as Shiro's blank, grey face was revealed, staring straight up. Each paladin, all with the same frozen expression, were hidden under the sterile, white sheets. Matt shook as pulled off the final one, finding Pidge, her glasses removed, face twisted in something akin to fear. 

Voices filled the room, pounding against the walls. They spoke of tests, experiments, successes. The sheets began to shift, the frozen bodies underneath them twisting and turning as if trapped in nightmares. The air grew thick with fear, the instinct to flee suffusing each voice, a wailing choir of strangers. 

The floor slid out from under him, the edges of his vision churning with colour. Static filled Matt's mind, and he stumbled sideways onto the soft grass.

As the visions and voices faded, the panic that once filled the air drained. he was left with a face sense of peace, and in the back of his mind, he knew something was wrong. The air was warm, and the only thing he could hear was the soft hum of insects. 

A faint rumble shook the ground, and the illusion shattered. A massive ship uncloaked, purple light blotting out the sun's rays. Galra soldiers appeared in front of him, their twisted weapons slaying everything that could think, whether it fought back or not. Shrieks filled the quiet air, the meadow's colours shifting as it burned around him. A soldier who strangely resembled Keith ran towards him, snarling. His jaw and shoulders were broader, his skin mottled with scars. Matt stepped back, afraid to attack in turn. But he charged right through the rebel, leaving a faint sense of the emotions he was feeling behind. 

Larger Galra began to pour from the ranks, but only one seemed to look at him, rather than through him. The soldier smiled, stretching its lips apart unnaturally. They sprinted at him, pulling a dagger out of their pocket. His mind was moving too slow, and it was all he could do to react, trying to turn and run...

The blade entered and exited his stomach in one stroke. He fell backwards, his vision flickering yellow and grey. He felt the world start to scream, thousands of voices joining the fray. Each blade of grass felt his death, as his heart slowed--

Matt sat up, gasping. A bolt of pain shot through him, and he rolled off the couch in a panic. Voices began to beat against the door, people calling out to him. He tried standing, the blanket wrapped around his legs. His breathing was fast, he saw the Paladin's dead faces flash by as he scrambled away from the door. It wooshed open, and someone ran to his side. 

They placed a hand on his shoulder but he moved again, shapes rushing around the room as he tried to move away. Someone called out to them until they slowed. Familiar white and blue came into focus, and he recognized Shiro's voice beside him.

"Take a deep breath. Don't talk, just keep breathing," the Black paladin told him as Matt tried to explain. Lance brought him a glass of the water, and the voices that had echoed around his dreams faded. 

The nightmares were nothing special. Everyone had them when you had fought as many battles as them. But Matt was never able to tell them what they were about, as he had seen more blood than he was willing to tell Pidge about. So he pushed it away, focusing on the lights in front of him. 

After all, what good were supporting pillars, if they couldn't do their jobs?

\----  
_'Cause this just don't feel right to me,_  
\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm adjusting to a new schedule. With all my homework, finding the time and the will to write is difficult. If you like this work, please leave Kudos! It lets me know you guys like the story, and I can keep up posting.
> 
> Update 11/10: I just deleted an entire chapter in the works, so the next update will be late. It was going on 4k words, which was a great disappointment, and I really want to throw my computer across the room. Hope you all are doing well!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took like, three months. After my work got deleted I found it kinda hard to restart writing. I hope everything's going well with you guys!

\----  
_I wanna raise your spirits, I want to see you smile_  
\----

What felt like several days had passed since Haggar's outright experiments had stopped. The pain of the burns and chemical scars had gone away, and he had been allowed some rest. When he woke on the second day, the metal chair and tables around it were gone, replaced by a ledge a couple feet above the ground, and a drain in the centre of the floor. They still took blood every couple days and hid pills in his food, but it had calmed down. 

Save for the fights he was being put through, probably to test his strength. The guards would be here soon, to pick up the remains of the last battle. A tall, gangly alien, with sticky limbs and a gurgling roar. It was the result of a failed aquatic lung, made of metal, from the way his knuckles hurt. He reasoned it was from an ocean planet, from its fishhook claws and bioluminescent eyes. He hadn't been fighting it for very long until the metal pierced through its body in multiple places, and it collapsed with a choked scream. The crashing from the observer's measuring instruments meant that they didn't know that would happen. 

He was sitting on the ledge, facing directly away from the body. Normally, they removed the body right away, while activating his collar's magnets and pinning him to the wall. They ignored him this time, as the door slid open and two walked in. They muttered as they took the body away, his unfortunate nickname under their breaths. Haggar had apparently entered that in his official documents, as the doctors were currently calling him that. 

Behind them was another pair of guards, which was weird in itself. Patrols were made of sentries, and the magnets prevented him from attacking any other Galra. Both were fairly large, marching to a time only they could hear. They walked into the cell, silently, except for their commands.

"Stand, walk with us." The taller one said, attaching a thick chain to his matching cuffs. They stood behind him until he started to walk, guiding him through a twisting maze of hallways, all unmarked and unmemorable. His clawed up uniform rustled as they pushed him when he slowed down. Blood was caked under his fingernails, his hair in stiff spikes. Keith stopped at a short, metal door. The guard pulled on the chain of the collar, holding him back. He motioned towards the door, opening it. As the half-galra stepped inside, it swung shut with an audible _click_. Lights flared around the room, fading into a lavender. It was a bathroom, he thought surprisedly. He had used the rags and water he was given to clean up some of the blood, but never an actual shower. 

Around the room were stalls, in each were drains and shower heads. As he peeked into one, he noticed a small alcove in the side, away from where the main spray was. It was filled with little bottles, similar to those in a hotel. They were all Galrean, but he could tell which one was which by the small illustrations. Shampoo and conditioner for thin and thick fur, an exfoliating soap for those with scales, and even a sensitive one, for Galra with little to no hair. Everything else was odds an ends, a claw shiner, a spike cleaner, one that even looked like it was for tails. 

Keith quickly showered, using a couple of products. The water was lukewarm and kind of slimy like it had been sitting in the pipes for a while. He was blasted with a massive hairdryer as he walked out of the stall, nearly sending him onto the floor, The guards had brought him a change of clothes, though these ones were significantly more dressed than the ones the prisoners had to wear. A pair of black leggings, a fitted shirt, and a thin set of armour. He was dressed in (what he guessed) was low-ranking gear, possibly for a foot soldier or cadet. The chest plate had the Galrean crest, but the graves and gauntlets were plain, and his collar was left bare. He strode towards the door, trying to pick up the march he had seen the other soldiers do. The two Galra were still standing there, minus the chains that they had been holding earlier. 

They walked for a while, taking more turns and unlocking more doors than he could count. Each door became steadily more decorated, reinforced better. More guards patrolled the hallways. When the path finally straightened out, his legs were aching. Lights were brighter, soldiers lined the stretch of metal. A set of doors, taller and heavily backed, swung open as he neared it. Keith was stopped in front of it, as his guides were verified. Before they reached the threshold, they stopped and took up positions on either side of the door. Keith continued into the room. 

The Galrean Emperor sat on his throne, violet eyes staring straight through him. 

Giant glass panels lined the walls, giving him a view of the world he hadn't seen in a long time. A thrumming pulse emanated from Zarkon's throne, the quintessence behind him casting strange shadows on his face. Keith continued, pausing only as he heard the massive doors glide shut with a _bang._

An audience, Keith thought. That's what all that effort was for. 

He neared the steps to the throne, stopping at the first one. Looking directly at Zarkon, he waited for the other to make the first move. The room was crackling with tension, and he knew any wrong moves would be the end. It was a string stretched to its limits, an ember on the hearth about to snap. 

"I have heard of the destruction the Blade of Marmora has caused," The king's deep voice was calm, directed at him while filling the entire room. "I did not think such a soldier as small as you could be accepted." 

Keith gritted his teeth, knowing it was a ruse. Zarkon was trying to draw him out, then corner him. He refused to speak, not wanting to dignify the insult. 

"You infiltrated one of my ships on an intel mission, seeking knowledge on the quintessence you found. Instead of leaving right away, you deviate, attempting to get a sample. Any disciplined spy of mine would be killed for their misconduct." The emperor. "A Hallef, such as you, would have their family killed, barrack burned down, and friends drained of quintessence." 

Keith swallowed, shivering despite the warmth of the room. He felt Zarkon staring at him, flicking his gaze back and forth along the stairs in front of him. 

"A _disgrace._ You tarnish the honour of the Galra Empire, even if it was for a sickly rebel's group. No wonder the paladins and the princess threw you out. Runts should always be drowned."

He felt like his lungs were going to burst out of his chest, the tight reign on his words about to snap. 

"You've given us very useful information, with your cooperativeness in the latest tests. The human we had here... he was often punished for his refusal to comply. Results from his brain scans have told us he was damaged." Zarkon paused. "It seems that the damage was severe enough for him to consider you, a half breed and disgrace on the Galra Empire, someone worthy of being a paladin."

"How would you know what it's like to be worthy of being a paladin? Black rejected you. Seems you've forgotten that." Keith didn't mean for the string to snap, the glass to shatter. The pulse of energy in the room flickered and went silent, before picking back up again, weaker than before. "Voltron rejected you."

The Emperor's presence swelled, his anger emanating clearly from his expression, and the brightness at which his eyes were glowing. "You would do well to remember your place, Hallef." He spat. "I am done with Haggar's experiments. We will get the information out of you, whether you die in the process or not." With no indication, the door swept open. Guards streamed in, taking him by the forearms, cuffing his hands and struggling to pull what he realized was a muzzle over his head. Zarkon rose, walking towards him. Grabbing the paladin's jaw, he growled, "You will give me the intel I want. Cooperate, and you will be rewarded. Oppose me, and I will not hesitate to remove the heart of your rebellion."

Keith was dragged away, fingernails scrabbling uselessly at the armour of the guards. His through was raw from the muffled screaming, the muzzle digging into his skin. The last he saw of the king was glowing purple eyes, the doors slamming shut by some unseen force. 

He was led back to the bathroom, where he changed back into prison attire. The skintight undersuit was uncomfortably close, almost too tight. He knew he would get used to it in time. After being escorted back to his cell, Keith flopped down on the ledge, letting a leg dangle off. His head was pounding, but they had taken off the muzzle when he entered. The spike of sound made everything a fuzzy, dull pain in his ears.

An hour later, his food was shoved in, accompanied by the same jug of water. His first bite was soothing against his throat, tasting oddly comforting. He ate quickly, wanting to go to bed as soon as possible. He stopped abruptly as he bit down on something hard, feeling his tooth crack in his mouth. Something was crawling on his gums, and he half rose, spitting the object into his hand. A small pill, thinner than the ones on earth, lit up. His tooth itched as he felt something seal it shut. 

A bolt of electricity flooded his body, and the last thing he saw of his cell was the flickering light, growing dimmer with every second.

\----

"Lance!" Pidge ran towards the paladin lounge. "You need to see this!"

"What is it?" the taller boy was already rising from his spot on the couch, worry etched on his face. 

"The last battle? Where we had to assist the rebels with their attack on the main Galra fleet? I was looking at the data, trying to find the latest prisoner files, and I found some from recently-" Lance cut her off, leaning over the smaller paladin. 

"Do you have any news about Keith?"

She adjusted her glasses. "I was _getting_ to that part. They were updated before Kolivan showed up. They're under a different name, though, and I'm not sure its a solid lead."

"Why would you get my hopes up, Pidge." Lance sighed, flopping back down on the couch. "Why do you think it's him, though?" 

"They arrived on the main ship and were taken to one of the labs. The results from one of the... _tests_ is similar to a human's reaction to acid. Some of the words are garbled from the translation, but it looks like they were testing their durability to things like gases, and resistance to heat and cold."

"What's their name registered under? If the translation was that bad, Keith's name might just be a side effect."

"I already asked Allura about it. She said it's not a mistranslate, but considering his Galra heritage, I wouldn't put it past the scientist to name him something to similar to 'Half'." 

"What?" Lance asked, perking up immediately. "They named Kei- the prisoner Half?"

"Not Half," She pointed to the tablet. "Hallef." 

"Sounds like something they'd do. How are we going to know if it's Keith?" 

"We break in." 

Hunk walked in, oblivious to any of the information about the possible lead. "What's going on in here?" He examined their faces, checking to see if either expression was glee, the result of a prank. 

Lance opened his mouth to say something before Pidge hushed him, trying to keep her promise to the rebels intact. 

"Nothing! I was just showing Lance some of the new Altean words I recently learned how to say!" Her upward-focused glare stopped Lance dead in his tracks. 

"Ooookay," Hunk stretched the syllable, moving like he was going to leave. Once Pidge looked away, he jumped forward, snatching the datapad and holding it above his head. "You know I can tell when you two are lying, right?" 

"Hunk! Give that back!" Pidge shouted, reaching upwards. 

Hunk, with both hands holding the tablet held high in the air, started looking through the displayed files. His eyes widened as he scanned through the notes. "Is this...Keith's file?"

"Uh...no?" 

The yellow paladin took a deep breath, before bolting out of the room, intel in his hands. 

"After him!" Lance screeched, knowing the consequences of a data leak, even if it was in the confines of the Castle. 

Pidge gulped. They wouldn't be as forgiving as last time. 

\----  
_Know that means I'll have to leave_  
\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story's far from over! Hopefully it won't take as long to write the next one, though.


End file.
